Clarence Valley News

Resident reveals ‘errors’ in Clarence Valley council’s annual report

Published

2 years ago

25 February 2022

JeffG

Advertisements

Resident reveals ‘errors’ in Clarence Valley council’s annual report

By Tim Howard

A Yamba resident who feels Clarence Valley Council has unfairly targeted her, her husband and a neighbour, says she has uncovered a mass of errors in the last council annual report.
The 2020-21 annual report was contentious for the council. It was delivered late and sent to the NSW Office of Local Government just inside its November 30 deadline.
After Cr Karen Toms uncovered errors in the report, a corrected version was approved and sent to the OLG without informing the council, which was a breach of procedure.
With another opportunity to send the report further errors were uncovered, and the corrected came to the December 3 extraordinary meeting for approval.
Ironically in an answer to a question from Cr Peter Ellem, if she was sure this document was free of errors, Ms Black replied “100%”.
But Yamba resident Lynne Cairns begs to differ, having scrutinised the document carefully and uncovering a swathe of questionable entries.
Mrs Cairns, her husband Bob and a nearby resident Shane Powell are well known to the council.
Midway through 2021 the council’s acting general manager, Laura Black, placed the trio on the council’s Unreasonable Complainant Category list.
She said the trio had been too persistent in seeking information about a development at 19 Gumnut Rd, Yamba, next door to Mr Powell’s residence.
She said this had exposed staff to unreasonable levels of stress, which could have posed a health risk.
She also turned down a GIPA request for the information.
A report from the NSW Privacy Commissioner found council had erred in not providing the residents with the information they required.
At the same extraordinary meeting on December 3, council met to discuss removing the Cairns and Mr Powell from the UCC and apologising to them. Instead it reaffirmed the staff decision and the council policy.
Mrs Cairns compared last year’s report with the 2019-20 document and found the most recent one appears to have duplicated figures from the previous year.
She has sent an email to Ms Black detailing where the errors occurred on pages 3, 9, 13, 16, 21 and 22 of the report.
“The figures are obviously duplicates,” she said. “It would be extremely unlikely for figures like pool entries or online library visits to be identical year to year.”
In addition to the errors in the reports, Mrs Cairns has already informed the council its minutes from the meeting don’t accord with the video recording of it.
She said at one stage an amendment from Cr Andrew Baker to a motion was voted on without being seconded, which is a clear breach of meeting procedure.
Clarence Valley mayor Ian Tiley has already gone on the record describing the meeting as a shambles.
He said the council should have admitted its mistakes and apologised to the residents.
Cr Tiley said a course of action for the council could be to not recognise the minutes from the meeting at the first meeting of the new council on February 22.
Mrs Cairns said while it was important the council cleared the residents of any wrongdoing it was also vital council become more transparent in dealing with the public.
She said she would make a deputation to the council on February 22 detailing the errors she has uncovered.
Mrs Cairns said she had also received an apology from Ms Black over an entry in the council business paper to the December 3 meeting, which claimed council had mentioned the behaviour of the residents to police. See article on P19 of last week’s Northern Rivers Times.
While she accepted the apology, she described it as “hollow and disingenuous”.
She said council’s actions over the past three years had been stressful and humiliating for her and her husband and Mr Powell.
“Not only with what is in the 3 December 2021 Business Paper, but how we have been treated by Council executive and senior staff since 2019 to our reasonable and valid questions
“This also included having received the UCC and having no right of reply or natural justice.”

Advertisements

Up Next

Flying fox frequency, pt 2

Don't Miss

Greater support helps give kids the best possible start

Clarence Valley News

Community group’s council audit delayed

Published

2 days ago

24 July 2024

Liam

Advertisements

Community group’s council audit delayed

By Tim Howard

A community group supposedly the target of a Clarence Valley Council audit in February 2024 over the cost of its interactions with council has pointed out the audit has not been completed. The General Manager, Laura Black commented, “I anticipate it will take a couple of months.”

The secretary of Yamba Community Action Network (YambaCAN), Lynne Cairns, said this week’s council business paper included a report, Council Meeting Checklist – update on actions taken.

The report revealed staff had not completed the action, the result of a council resolution at the February 2024 council meeting.

“On page 175 of the business paper there is a note next to the item,” Ms Cairns said.

“It reads: ‘Staff responsible for collating information have been diverted to prepare and respond to legal action taken against council by an executive member of YambaCan’.”

Ms Cairns said this was incorrect as no-one on the YambaCAN executive had taken legal action against the council.

She was aware of some matters concerning the council a member of YambaCAN had taken to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

“These matters were not matters concerning YambaCAN and the member who brought them was not acting for YambaCAN,” Ms Cairns said.

“I’m concerned this is some disinformation that somehow YambaCAN is responsible for delaying council’s investigation of its actions.

“YambaCAN is requesting an apology from council for the incorrect information in the business paper.”

The resolution read: that the general manager advises, by way of a report the:

1. allocation of resources required to respond to GIPAs submitted by YambaCan since January 2022.

2. allocation of resources required to respond to RFI (Request for Information) submitted by YambaCan since January 2022.

3. any cost implications of delays to delivering the Yamba Community Precinct project since January 2022.

The matter was passed 5-4, but debate was fiery.

Cr Karen Toms brought it as a notice of motion to alert the public to the costs the group’s GIPA requests and requests for information were incurring.

But other councillors said these costs were part of council operating openly and transparently.

Cr Greg Clancy was concerned the motion focused on just one group when council records showed it was responsible for a fraction of the requests.

“As seen in the listing of GIPA applications on council’s website, there are 22 GIPA applications and only six of these refer to YambaCAN,” he told the February meeting.

He also revealed YambaCAN had lodged a request for information, however were informed that there were 290 requests for information previously lodged by others that were waiting to be processed.

Ms Cairns was concerned that with the council going into caretaker mode on August 16, ahead of the September local government elections, council could not effectively decide on the matter.

There will be report on the outcome of this matter and other matters at council in next week’s edition of The Northern Rivers Times.

For more Yamba news, click here.

Advertisements

Clarence Valley News

Clarence Valley Country Muster

Published

1 week ago

17 July 2024

Liam

Advertisements

Clarence Valley Country Muster

If you are missing the country sounds from Tamworth, fret not, as the Clarence Valley Country Muster is just around the corner.

Expanded from two days to four, the event will start on July 25^th and go to July 28^th at 11 Coulters Lane, Ulmarra, near Grafton.

You will enjoy artists such as Jade Hurley, John, Lloyd, Jack Watson, Lindsay Waddington and Jamie Davis.

Special guest artists, Paul Ricketts, Winner of the Thornton Young Award and Nay McAplin, Winner of the Walk Ups in July, will also make an appearance.

Your comperes for the main stage will be Terry Gordon OAM and Ken ‘Chainsaw’ Lindsay.

And bring those nerves with you, as from 10.30am on Thursday, aspiring artists can take their turn on the microphone, with John Lloyd hosting the walk-ups.

All acts will be vying for a gig at next July’s event.

Now is the time to grab a group of friends or family members and book your spot by heading to their website www.cvcmuster.com.au or calling Wendy Gordon on 0432 741947.

Gates open for early arrival at the muster site on Tuesday, July 23.

For $120 per person, you can enjoy a full week of camping, camaraderie and entertainment at one of the best value-for-money festivals in the Clarence Valley.

Check out is Tuesday, July 30.

If you have a fire pit, bring it along as wood will be supplied.

There will be songs around the campfire, best dressed Christmas and party games and a big finale on the Sunday.

For more local Clarence Valley news, click here.

Advertisements

Clarence Valley News

NSW BUDGET: NOTHING FOR RICHMOND AND CLARENCE VALLEYS COST OF LIVING CRISIS, BUT SOME WINS

Published

4 weeks ago

27 June 2024

Liam

Advertisements

NSW BUDGET: NOTHING FOR RICHMOND AND CLARENCE VALLEYS COST OF LIVING CRISIS, BUT SOME WINS

The NSW Labor Government’s 18 June Budget does nothing to alleviate the growing cost of living problems in the Richmond and Clarence Valleys, although there is some good news for the region, according to Clarence Nationals MP Richie Williamson.

“Everywhere I go, every local I talk to, they all say the same thing: we’re struggling with rising costs – why isn’t the Government helping?” Mr Williamson said.

Mr Williamson said that he was all for working cooperatively with the Government, but there was mounting evidence Sydney Labor is “out of town, out of touch and the budget is out of control”.

“Calls to reinstate the $250 fuel card for regional seniors, students and apprentices have fallen on deaf ears, but Sydney seniors now enjoy $2-a-day Gold Passes on Sydney’s massive and massively subsidised public transport system as well as toll relief for Sydneysiders,” Mr Williamson said.

“Calls to save the Ulmarra ferry from Labor’s axe met a similar fate, at the same time as Labor is buying a fleet of new ferries for Sydney and took over another Sydney ferry service that has lower patronage than Ulmarra to Southgate.”

Mr Williamson did acknowledge the Government’s ongoing funding of the previous Liberals and Nationals Government’s Grafton Base Hospital rebuild, the allocation of $6.2m in the fight against White Spot disease in local rivers as well as a “welcome” $90m boost for the Resilient Homes Program, following the 2022 floods.

“These are crumbs compared to what Labor is lavishing on its Sydney heartland,” Mr Williamson cautioned.

“The Richmond and Clarence Valleys provide the timber for Sydney homes, the beef for Sydney dinners as well as the sugar and milk for Sydney cappuccinos.

“That needs to be acknowledged and we deserve our fair share,” Mr Williamson concluded.”

For more Richmond Valley news, click here.

Advertisements